Today is about focus. I am so distracted by shiny things that all becomes distracting to me. I have a lot to do and have set some pretty hefty goals for myself in the upcoming weeks. I have many shoots this week with many jobs to get done. If I do not find the focus I will not be able to achieve what needs to get done. I have turned off the feeds from Facebook, to many shiny images coming across my screen, and am trying to divide my day into tasks. I have been derailed on building a new website because the learning program I originally purchased completely walked me though all the exercises but skipped the basics. When I went to actually build my website, I did not have the basic skills because they had completely provided it within the exercises. So I have begun working through a new training program that is more complete. I have the vision in my head, now I just need the tools and technical part to make it happen. This blog takes a considerable amount of time and sometimes I have difficulty working it all into my schedule. The process of writing does not seem to be the issue so much as finding the image that captures the feeling of my day, posting a full image to Red Bubble, and making all the links. Somehow this has become very technical and though I love the process it begins to bog me down and eats up my day. In the evening I go to a job from 1700 to 2130 at UPS. This pays most of the essential bills, provides insurance and other benefits. I like it a lot, but every evening is a rollercoaster of a ride to solve issues and get done. This leaves my afternoons to just be creative and shoot or work on images. This is the best part of my day and what I look forward to the most because I can escape into the projects I am working on and get lost.

When I first began working in photography I though it would only be about creation and for a long time it was only about creation. But since I have begun to realize there is so much more to it. To become successful and make a living at it, you must constantly work at promoting yourself. I would say a third of my time is devoted to the actual process of creating, a third becomes managing your creation and the other third is promotion of what you create. Sometimes it’s a very difficult task to balance all of the above when all I want to do is create. Then if you have any kind of relationship you must work time into your schedule to make this connection. I think this is why so many artist are alone and do not have relationships. I know Glenn is very patient with me, because I constantly work and it feels like I ignore him because I am so lost in the process, trying to achieve so much. This leaves very little room for other distractions. I have so many young artists asking advice and I say: be true to yourself. Approach everything you do as if it were a masterpiece and connect it through your passion for the subject. Thank god my passion is naked men, makes for an exciting and rewarding experience. The Internet is becoming my greatest tool, giving us the ability to create a community that inspires my images globally tying us all together. We must constantly replenish the well that feeds our creative souls. We must constantly strive to grown from our process and become better at what we do. We have one time to make this happen, and life moves very quickly before us. I know so many friends who are content to spend that valuable time merely in front of the television without ever exploring themselves only dreaming of what they can accomplish. My advice to all is: to reach out and follow your passion. We are all passionate about something; it’s just a matter of recognizing it within ourselves and reaching for our dreams.